My Best Friend is a Monster
by 12345romanpride
Summary: Ahh. Reincarnation. One would hope that it wasn't as bad as a blond-haired girl made it out to be. (Fem OC born in sunagakure) (Challenge by Writer's Obsession.) Updates every Wednesday.
1. Chapter 1

Asami wasn't sure she would ever get used to her current situation, and despite popular belief being reborn in the Naruto world wasn't fun. At all.

Most fangirls had this ridiculous notion that it was fun living in a world where 80% of the shinobi population died before they turned twenty, and innocent people were killed just for being near a conflict zone and said fangirls would jump at the chance of becoming a shinobi.

No fucking thank you!

Asami was perfectly content with being a normal civilian and living her life away from those crazy ninjas!

So, to ensure her survival, she came up with three rules that she would follow.

Number one: if you are unable to avoid becoming a ninja (which she sure hoped wouldn't happen), fail every goddam class until you can't graduate.

Number two: Avoid the main characters at all costs.

Number three: if by any chance you find yourself in a situation that could result in your death, prioritize yourself at all costs.

If she had any say in the matter, she would be a normal civilian and maybe travel around the elemental nations. However, she soon found out that being an orphan meant that she was automatically enrolled in the academy, and thus her nightmare began.

"Stop it! I'm not going!"

The blonde girl was currently being dragged by the academy teacher, who was trying to get her to go to said building. (The caregivers at the orphanage were no match against her stubborn nature, grabby hands and strength, and so they were forced to call shinobi for back up. Traitors!)

"Asami! Stop it with this silly behaviour! You'll never be a ninja-like that!"

"Who said I wanted to?!" She demanded, like, seriously! Was her obvious refusal to attend the classes not clear enough concerning her intentions!?

Asami kept yelling at the poor Chunnin, who was just trying to do their job and did not cease her screaming until they arrived at the academy, where she reluctantly shut up and paid attention to class.

What? Just because she didn't want to be a shinobi doesn't mean she wouldn't pay attention to her lessons. Regardless of that fact she would rather stay far, far away from the horrors of the battlefield, you can never know what life will throw at you (such as being reincarnated into fucking Naruto! In Suna!) And she would prefer to know how to defend herself.

Of course, she would still try her damn hardest to fail by flunking every test that the academy gave her. Asami was determined to not die young. Not again.

And the safest course of action was to stay away from any and all main characters.

Why would she interfere? Asami knew that everything ended up okay in the end. There was the occasional pang of guilt that she felt for not even making a small amount of effort to stop the many heartbreaking deaths from happening, even if she's not in Konoha, but she pushed the feeling down easily enough.

The teacher droned on about the history of Sunagakure and the warring states period, and Asami listened on, intrigued. She was the only one who actually listened to these types of lessons, as the other five-year-olds found it extremely boring. A few were even asleep!

Bitterly, a part of she wondered how it was fine for them to sleep, but she was still forced to attend this cursed academy. She meant, sleeping through the classes and not attending were almost the same thing!

And so time went by. Every day her sensei would come to the orphanage and drag her down to school, every day she would pretend to be uninterested but secretly pay attention, every day she would walk back alone to the orphanage (having to be dragged to class constantly turned off the other parentless brats from socializing with her) and every day, she would fall asleep thinking about the people she left behind in her past life.

Then, on one fateful evening when she was going back to the orphanage, she saw him.

A boy with seafoam green eyes and a shock of red hair was curled up on the floor, hugging a brown teddy bear and crying. And when he lifted his head up, she ran away. (Well, she ran as fast as her chubby five-year-old legs allowed her.)

It wasn't because she was scared of him, but because by talking to him she could potentially become friends and she would get dragged along into the main story and quite possibly get killed because Kishimoto is a ruthless little bitch. (She was still salty over Neji's death, okay?)

Upon arrival to at the orphanage, she ran to her bed, ignoring the caretakers' protests and buried herself under the covers. "I don't want to die. Not again, and if I become friends with Gaara, there is a higher chance that I might," thoughts clouded her head. When she watched the anime, the way Gaara had been treated left her a little sad, sure. But it was just an anime. There were no real-life consequences. And now that she existed within this universe, she had a chance to change that. So why didn't she take it? Why was she being so selfish?

She went to sleep thinking about that and found no comfort in the softness of her bed.

…..

The next morning, Asami started her day the usual way.

By being dragged to the academy.

What a beautiful way to begin your day.

The lessons progressed as normal, yet Asami couldn't focus on anything the teacher was saying, as she was still thinking about her encounter with Gaara the previous day. She really didn't want to get involved with the main characters and possibly die, but it turned into a completely different situation when she was faced with the abuse and neglect that Gaara was going through. Seeing people treat a child like that on an anime was not like seeing it in real life.

And now that she didn't have her blissful ignorance anymore (or what remained of it anyway) it seemed like Gaara was everywhere. Or, more acutely, Suna's monster was. In class, in the hallways, in the orphanage, and in the streets; there he was. People of all ages whispered about him as if the boy was a boogyman. He wasn't in her homeroom (thank the Gods) but she still occasionally spotted him around. In the hallways people, both children and adults, avoided his path like he was the plague. Sometimes the "brave" adults would spit at his feet when he walked too close -and damn it all, if Gaara's flinch and heart-breaking expression didn't make her feel worse every time.

For two months things stayed the same. Asami didn't speak or let Gaara see her glancing at him. She tried to bury the ever-growing guilt, but it slithered and withered inside of her, festering like some poison. There was a lump in her throat every time her ears caught hold of rumours about "the monster. " Her blood pressure rose every time an adult glared at the small boy as if he was the Devil reincarnate (because damn it; they at least should know better! Gaara never asked to be like this!)

One night fateful night was the breaking point for Asami. Most of the children were sitting on the carpet, facing the caregiver assigned to read them a story before bed. Asami was there, of course. What was the story, you ask? Gaara. The story, an actual published book, went on about how scary the monster (a little boy, just a little boy) was and how he'd eat any misbehaving children.

A boogyman indeed.

Asami didn't stay past the first three pages when it was made obvious who the "monster" was, but it still stuck to her like a parasite nonetheless. She rolled and twisted all night, unable to gain restful sleep.

The next day passed by in a blur, and when it was time to go back to the orphanage, Asami found herself walking to the place where she saw Gaara two months ago.

"Why the fuck am I doing this?" she thought to herself. "This could get me killed!"

Every glare, every spat, every whispered rumour and hateful look, the fucking story kept replaying in Asami's mind. She thought she just might burst with her spiral of emotions.

She kept walking, eventually reaching an almost empty playground covered in sand (just like everywhere in Suna was). Soon, she spotted the familiar redhead.

The boy heard her take a step closer and some of his sand started to surround him, forming an impenetrable shield. Asami ignored it and took another step closer, cursing herself for stepping closer to death with each step she took towards the boy. She had no clue what to say but eventually decided that beating around the bush was unnecessary, and she would simply be as straightforward as possible (without hurting his feeling or provoking him. As stated before, Asami did not have a death wish.) "Hey," she said. "I'm sorry for running away the other day. That was rude. Do you wanna be my friend?"

The boy's eyes lit up as he realized that the girl was talking to him. He hugged his teddy bear a bit closer. "Why are you talking to me?" he stuttered out in a barely audible voice. "Aren't you scared I'm gonna hurt you?" Asami's heart broke at the sight in front of her (against her will might she add). Neither the manga nor the anime did a very good job of portraying how badly he was treated and how alone he was.

"Why would I be? You didn't do anything to cause me any harm. Anyways, what's your name? Mine is Asami, and also, why are you alone?" she asked, knowing the answer, how could she not? Still, tiny children should not be left unattended like he is! (Never mind that she's also, physically at least, the same. She's earned the caregivers' trust to at least come back after the academy.)

When Gaara looked into the eyes of Asami, he saw that they looked tired as if she's much older than what she looks like, but what could a little girl such as herself be tired of? For a split second, Gaara saw not a young girl, but someone who had seen enough. He looked into her eyes and asked her, "Is being alone and being lonely the same things?" he already knew the answer to it. The answer was no, it wasn't. You could be surrounded by people, but still be very lonely.

"Stop it with the deep thoughts, I don't know the answer to them! You still didn't answer my original question though."

Gaara frowned. "What question?"

Asami tucked a strand of her dirty blonde hair behind her ears and said, "I asked you if you wanted to be my friend. It's okay if you don't want to, I just thought that maybe we both needed one."

"W-Why? I'm a monster… "

"Well, you look fine to me;" another snarky comment.

Gaara doubted that they would stop any time soon.

She looked at him again. "Why would you call yourself that?"

"Be-Because it's true. I… I killed them, the assassins that were after me, she made me do it, the blood, I tried to wash it off but it won't come off, it's on my hands, no matter how hard I scrub, no matter what kind of soap I use, it…. It won't come off… IT'S NEVER GOING TO COME OFF!" Tears started spilling down once again, his voice became rougher and she noticed that he was spiralling.

"Is that truly what you think?" she asked him, truthfully this time. No matter how bad it as, a father has no right to treat his child the way the Kazekage treated his son. The man was what turned Gaara into a monster and she sure as hell was going to try and stop him from becoming the "killer" that people believe him to be (or at least be able to control it more.) "They went after you even though you're just a child. You aren't the monster here, they are."

Which is another reason why she didn't want to be a ninja.

He raised his head and stared at the girl, analyzing her through his salty tears and wet sniffs. At first glance, she looked like a normal five-year-old. Short dirty blonde hair with side-swept bangs, which was extremely common in Sunagakure, and dark blue eyes. Her outfit consisted of a fishnet shirt, with a purple top that reached her mid stomach and black shorts, with the traditional everything-proof ninja sandals. (Later, he would note that her hair was the same colour as his sister's, whom after some years took a liking to Asami.) However, if you looked deeper than the average kunoichi facade, you would see that she was much more mature than what a five-year-old child was supposed to be. She was truly peculiar.

"But they-"

"You still didn't answer my question," Asami interrupted the boy before he could say another word. Gaara didn't deserve the treatment he got as a child. He needed a friend to help deal with all the horrible things that will happen to him here in Suna. "Because I need a friend. Perhaps you could fill that position in for me?"

"Plus," a little and unwanted voice spoke up, "Being as abused as he is, he's sure to protect you viciously because you're the only one that doesn't treat him like shit."

Gaara couldn't believe his ears. Someone wanted to be his friend despite him telling them that he had killed people? He didn't deserve this. All he deserved was pain and despair. That's what he was taught. So why did this girl just ask him to be her friend? Wasn't she scared? Perhaps she was also told to say this, paid to betray him at the moment he expected it last. After all, his own father told him he didn't love him and said that he didn't deserve to be loved. He was no fool, he wasn't going to trust her. Gaara was angry, he was not going to be deceived again. His sand started to surround him.

"Did Tou-sama tell you to say that? Are you going to betray me as well?" he shot his hand in her direction.

Asami didn't move, she knew that she was probably going to die but she couldn't move, all she could do was stare at him with determination on her face. (Truthfully, she's already paralyzed with fear. Her feet were rooted in place without her say-so.) She had finally gathered the courage to break her rule a little, and she wasn't just gonna give up that easily. "I don't want to die." she thought, "Not again. Not like this." Her mouth was bone dry, and she could feel her legs shake as sweat runs down her body (and this time, it wasn't just from the unbearable heat that Suna is cursed with.) Despite what she was feeling though, She didn't let her fear show. The sand got closer and closer and she was seeing everything in slow motion. It was only a few inches away from her face now, shaped like a spike, she waited for the sand to pierce her forehead, but it just stopped there.

"Why aren't you moving?!" Gaara asked as even more tears flowed down his cheeks, he was confused. Most people would've run away by now, was she really paid that much?

"As I said before, I'm not scared of you." she lied through her teeth, she caught her voice shaking but she didn't think Gaara would notice. "Why would I be scared of an angry little boy?" Of course she was scared. Scared shitless, in fact! How could she not be? Gaara could kill her in the bat of an eye.

But she didn't show it. For his sake and hers, she decided to hold it in. "And I told you I wanted to be friends already." She could see he hesitated, perhaps just like an animal, he could smell her fear?

She outstretched her hand towards him. "No backing down now…" she thought as she waited for the boy to shake her hand. Gaara stared at the hand for a few seconds before shaking it, the warmth of Asami's hand feeling good on his cold ones.

"Also, why would your father pay a scrawny little five-year-old girl to try and murder you? I'm sure he has better uses for his money. And besides, his best shinobi couldn't kill you, how would I? Hiring a five-year-old is just stupid."

He laughed at her, and together they began to play with the sand in the streets of Suna.

….

After an hour or two of talking and playing with the redhead, Asami walked to the orphanage where she currently resided. The matron, who was a young woman with long brown hair rushed at her.

"Are you alright?! Someone came to me earlier and told me they saw you playing with that boy, the monster. He didn't hurt you did he?! Listen to me, you better stay away from him, he could kill you!"

Asami stared at the woman in front of her. She tried to push down her burning anger. Really, Asami was finding that all the adults were the same. "No, he didn't hurt me. He's actually really nice." Her tone was short and clipped.

The Matron gasped. "Asami! Are you crazy?! I don't want you to be near that boy anymore, do you understand?! He could kill you!" She repeated.

"But he's my friend!" Asami had become friends with one of the most dangerous and badass people on earth, she was not about to let it go to waste!

And also, being friends with Gaara might give her a chance to help him change, and since she will most likely become a ninja (despite all of her effort), Gaara could protect her in the situations where she couldn't protect herself. Because you see, in this world ruled over by Darwin's theory, you've got to do everything in your power to survive, even if you felt guilty about it. "I will not be selected out!" Asami thought as she headed back to her room for the night.

Sometimes she wished she wasn't reborn at all.

….…

The next morning, Asami got to the academy like she always did: Dragged by the hair by one of the teachers. "Let me go! I don't want to become a ninja!" She yelled as curious citizens stared at the way she was being brought to school.

The Chunnin sighed. "Why must you be so complicated, Asami-chan?"

"I'm not complicated! I have free will and I don't want to be a ninja and die before I turn twenty!"

"Asami, you know you're complicated." The Chunnin's hold on the girl's shirt loosened just a little bit, but it was enough to give Asami a chance to get away.

"YOU'LL NEVER CATCH ME!" she crackled as she ran away as fast as she could. She probably wasn't going to win thanks to the fact that her current speed comparable to that of a snail, so she decided to try to hide. But of course, she was caught by the Chunnin in a matter of minutes and dragged to the academy. Maybe her teacher finally snapped, because she got two hours of detention for running away. Needless to say, it started off as an extremely shitty day.

And it was only going to get shittier.


	2. Chapter 2

Asami was royally pissed off. After she arrived at the academy, some girls decided that their time would be better spent bullying Asami than paying attention to class, and when the blonde girl yelled at them to shut up, Asami got another 30 minutes of detention! Talk about unfair!

And then, when she tried to look for Gaara, she couldn't find him anywhere! Asami ended up arriving at the orphanage hours later than usual, with gum stuck in her hair and sand and frustration everywhere else. The other kids ignored her (as usual) and Asami gave up trying to look on the bright side. This day had been extremely shitty, and judging from the angry looks that the matron gave her, it wasn't going to get any better.

She didn't know just how right she was.

…

That night, Asami dreamt of broken glass on the pavement and the cries of a woman who would soon bleed out on the cold concrete ground. That night, Asami heard the screams that had haunted her for a year, and when she woke up, she found that there were tear streaks in her face and bloody memories fresh in her mind.

That night was just like the others that had come after her fourth birthday.

Asami took deep breaths to try and calm herself down, and yet no matter how much she tried to go back to sleep, she couldn't. Goddamnit.

Asami got out of bed and walked downstairs. Judging by the fact that the matron's bedroom light was still on, it was probably around 11 pm, (the matron never slept later than midnight. Ever.) And if she was careful and quiet enough, maybe she could go on top of the roof without the matron noticing.

Nodding along to her plan, Asami climbed back upstairs and opened the window, feeling the cold air against her skin. She always thought it was strange that the days in desserts were unbearably hot, but the nights were as cold as ice. She couldn't shake off the bad feeling that something was about to happen, and that she should know what.

She was careful not to trip when standing on the ledge, and as cautiously as possible, she climbed up the surface of the rocky two-story building. When she got to the roof, Asami sat down and took a deep breath of air, closing her eyes and appreciating the feel of the air on her skin.

These were the moments that she felt most at peace. Asami opened her eyes and looked around, acknowledging the beauty that was the architecture of Suna.

All the buildings were mostly coloured in tones of beige, and most of them seemed to be made of sand or stone and shaped like circles and cylinders. they certainly weren't the same as the buildings in her other life, but they were just as magnificent.

Even if she didn't like her current condition, she could still see the beauty of the land of the wind and appreciate it.

Then one of the buildings was destroyed, and the illusion of peace and serenity disappeared.

…

Asami climbed down as fast as she could and was back in bed just in time for the matron to run in the room and usher the children into the underground basement that the orphanage had installed a few years ago just in case of an 'accident.' (Funny how they were prepared.)

Outside of the building, Shukaku continued destroying everything in its path and showing no mercy to those who ended up caught in his rampage.

Asami was feeling torn. She wanted to go out there and try to help Gaara overcome the one tail's wrath, but as previously stated, she did not have a death wish. The other kids had already fallen asleep, and in case Yuko (She had finally figured out the matron's name!) came up to check on them, she could just pretend to be asleep. Asami figured that was the only good use for those drama classes she had to take in middle school (she might have hated them but she wasn't bad).

However, the option of living seemed vastly preferable, so Asami stayed right where she was, being consumed by the guilt that came with letting her only friend in this world succumb to cruel hatred.

Just the usual shitty day.

…

Asami hoped that all her bad luck from the previous day would have been gone by the next, and so far her prayers had been heard, but she had to prepare herself for the worst (wouldn't be the first time something bad happened when she was on a roll. The bird incident was one of those cases.)

This day, she tried a different escape method: She woke up at sunrise, which greatly pained her because even with the nightmares Asami worshipped sleep, and climbed into the ceiling once more.

Her school backpack was filled with candy that she stole from the kitchen once they came out of the basement and bottles of water to last her the whole day.

She also brought along some shinobi workbooks to figure out if she got bored. (C'mon. Wouldn't you want to pull a Jesus on someone?)

This time, she was prepared.

And they weren't gonna get her.

…..

"Let me go you annoying little assho-!"

"Aaaaaaaand that's enough outta you, Asami-chan!"

Damn. She really underestimated those shinobi. They hadn't even taken any longer than usual to find her! (Later she realised that she hadn't learned how to conceal chakra yet and that it was probably really easy to find her. Asami really needed to fix that ASP.)

Her teacher had her slung over his shoulder like she was nothing more than a potato sack, and was dragging her to the academy like he did every day. It was almost like a routine, actually.

Being dragged by Kawamura-sensei gave her a good opportunity to look at the damage that happened last night. Many buildings in the street were completely destroyed, and shinobi were setting up shelters for the wounded and homeless. Asami was pretty sure that the orphanage was going to get a few new kids soon judging by the bodies on the road. (How morbid.)

She decided it was time to change the subject.

The rest of the walk back to the academy was uneventful and strangely normal, which according to Asami's luck was extremely rare and something bad was probably going to happen. (It always does. There is no avoiding it.)

The only thing left for Asami to do was mentally prepare herself like she did every day, and hope that if her bad luck _did_ strike, at least she would have enough mental barriers to not care that much.

Kawamura-sensei looked at her oddly over his shoulder, and her feeling of discomfort only grew.

…..

Satoshi Kawamura was generally a very patient man. Except when it came to one trouble maker named Hajime Asami. He just couldn't get why she was so obsessed with failing any and all classes. Kids this age were generally really impressionable and thought nothing of the dangers of becoming a shinobi. Even prodigies dreamed of being a 'cool and super powerful' shinobi. So why was Asami any different?

He just couldn't understand how she knew so much about things and why she cared. Once he heard the other five-year-olds talking about how fun it would be to be in a life or death situation. He was pretty sure (that they were wrong. (And by pretty sure he meant that due to personal experiences he could assure anyone that whatever those pests had to say about life and death situations was absolute bullshit.)

But Asami didn't take part in conversations such as that. She even seemed to make a conscious effort to _avoid_ them, and he just couldn't figure out why. Which made him incredibly cranky. He was so used to knowing everything that not knowing something left him in a state of constant distress. Not that he would ever admit it out loud (his colleagues were ruthless monsters).

The source of his frustration was slung over his shoulders and looking at the destroyed city.

He mentally growled.

How could the Kazekage let such a thing even exist?! The child was obviously a menace to Sunagakure, and of course, he understood that the child was his son but shouldn't he be thinking about the wellbeing of his people?!

Using his free hand (-he only needed one to carry the kid; seriously, she weighed nothing, it was like holding a couple of grapes-) he pushed his black hair away from his face and sighed deeply.

"Doesn't look good, does it, kid."

Asami looked at him curiously. "No?"

He chuckled. "No need to be nervous around me, I'm your sensei. We're supposed to make you feel comfortable, you know."

"I'm not uncomfortable, you just usually don't talk to me unless I'm in trouble." Her face scrunched up in confusion."Wait. Am I in trouble?"

Satoshi grinned at her, an amused expression on his face. "You're not, kid, relax! You're learning how to be a badass shinobi, enjoy it!"

"Maybe I would enjoy it more if it weren't for the simple fact that I and many other orphans are being forced to be here in order for you to gain more soldiers, and also, are you really sure you should say badass in front of a five-year-old?"

"I've seen you call a teacher a motherfucking piece of shit, you can handle me saying badass."

"Touche."

The silence that followed was slightly less uncomfortable than before, But Satoshi couldn't help but wonder how a kid that young could understand what the government was doing to orphans like her.

He averted her gaze for the rest of the walk.

"Does your silence mean trying to run away for a third time still won't get me in trouble?"

"You're only making this more difficult for yourself, Asami-chan."

She sighed and let her head relax, keeping her eyes open and staring at a fixed spot on the horizon, so he looked more like he was dragging a child's body in plain sight rather than taking her to the academy.

…

Asami sighed, sitting down at the bench and removing her sandals to shake out any sand that might have made its way into her feet. As the sand poured out of her shoe, her thoughts drifted to one red-headed jinchuuriki. Where could he be now? Was he avoiding her? Did he think that just because Shukaku went on a rampage (which was totally not his fault by the way) she might hate him?

This friendship thing was extremely complicated.

….

Asami walked back to the orphanage, her search for _him_ being a total failure. She sighed dejectedly and knocked on the door to the orphanage. Yuko opened the door a crack and after making sure Asami was alone, she let her in.

The five-year-old made a beeline for that stairs but was stopped by the matron's hand on her shoulder.

"Asami-chan, may I please talk to you for a second?"

Said girl knew it was more of an order than a request, so she made her best innocent face and said: "Ok."

The matron walked into the kitchen and prepared two cups of tea for them. Asami snuck a look at the clock and saw that it was already 11:30. That search for Gaara must have taken longer than she realised...

When the tea was finished brewing, Yuko walked into the small waiting room they had for guests who intended to adopt and sat down in a chair, gesturing for Asami to do the same.

The young orphan sat down on the couch and waited for, what Asami assumed would be the most awkward talk of her life, to begin.

"Listen," she began. "I know you want to be friends with him, and that I am not allowed to control every detail of your life. So I'm going to let you do whatever you want, but that won't change the fact that I am scared. Not of anyone, And especially not of a kid. I'm scared of what could happen to you should you two continue to be friends. He is constantly followed by ANBU and even his own father has tried to have him assassinated. What if you get caught up in the crossfire? what if someone thinks that they can manipulate him by using you?"

Asami began to understand why the matron was always so worried when she came home late.

"I am definitely not comfortable with you hanging out with the jinchuuriki, yet even though I am your legal guardian, telling you who you are and who you are not allowed to friends with is out of my power. You might be a kid, but you are still allowed to make your own choices. Adults are here to tell you that you're not allowed to have ice cream for dinner and that sand is in no way edible. We are not here to treat you like objects."

Yuko took a deep breath before continuing.

"All I can do is give you my opinion and hope you act on it. So I will tell you this: I don't think things aren't going to end well. You'll either get badly hurt or assassinated. You don't want to be the Village Council's gossip subject. If I were you, I would end this friendship. But I'm not you, so please, please, _please_ be careful, okay?"

Asami looked at yuko and noticed her eyes were glassy with unshed tears. She never really thought about how bad it would be to know that one of the children that were placed under your care ended up dying because you weren't careful enough.

"I promise, okay? And I'm not gonna be a gossip subject, especially not to the Village Council. I'm not even good enough to pass a test, do you really think I'm gonna be good enough to grab their attention?"

…

The girl had grabbed their attention.

"That girl truly is a mystery, isn't she?" muttered Goza at the rest of the Council.

"Yes. She managed to talk to the Jinchuuriki and not get killed, which is in itself a great achievement," answered Joseki.

"Not only that, but she also seems very mature for her age, which I also consider a great feat."

All the men in the room began to 'gossip' about the latest news, and (most likely without the Kazekage's approval), they decided what to do with them.

"Of course, she also seems to have taken a disliking to the shinobi way, and refuses to come to class on her own will, instead she would prefer to try to hide and have her teachers forcefully take her."

"Now the question arises, what should we do with her?"

The girl had been the Council's gossip subject for some time now. First, for being the only known child to object to becoming a shinobi so venomously, and second, she had actually talked to the boy that everyone in the village was scared of even coming near! Children would cry if they even saw him, but she walked up to the boy without a care in the world and offered to be his friend! That was, in the eyes of the Councilmen, insane!

Adults would consciously avoid him, but a five-year-old was able to talk to Gaara without showing any obvious signs of fear or loathing, which landed her into the minds of stiff old Suna men.

Joseki came to a decision. He turned to one of the Anbu Captains that stood guarding the door and said: "I want an Anbu group following Hajime Asami twenty-four seven, and then to report to me when they find something worth mentioning. Dismissed!"


	3. Chapter 3

Asami sighed. Why couldn't she find Gaara? She thought that her first talk with him would have erased any doubts about her wanting to be his friend! She made it very clear that Gaara was not the monster.

Asami was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't see the pebble in front of her, and because of her chubby five-year-old legs she was incapable of holding herself up (She never thought she would say this, but Asami couldn't wait to grow up)

The ground came dangerously close to her face, and she suddenly stopped. Completely out of the blue. Asami briefly considered the possibility that she had become super-man until she noticed the sand wrapped around her torso, which could only mean one thing…

she wasn't super-man, she was sandman! That had to be it! (Looking back she realized that maybe all that lack of sleep was making her sort of, well, an idiot.)

Her sandman fantasy didn't last long because she soon spotted a shock of red hair shyly hiding behind a tree, which didn't work well because said tree was dead and thin as a twig, which sort of made it obvious that he was hiding behind it.

Asami inwardly sighed.

"Gaara, is that you?"

A pause.

"No…"

Asami sighed, this time outwardly. She walked towards the tree, which very obviously had a wild Gaara hidden behind it. She made a show of whistling and walking behind the tree in which he was hidden behind.

"Let's get down to business." (To defeat, The Huns)

"Why have you been avoiding me?"

There was a pause as Gaara thought of his answer.

"Because you hate me."

"How can you say that so confidently?! i don't hate you, and I've been looking for you for the past three days."

"Stop lying. You're just using me and I'm not gonna befriend someone who just wants to use me."

"PFT. Yeah right. I don't wanna use you, I'm a kid just like you. I'm not that manipulative. And you don't mean that."

"I do."

"Then why were you following me?"

"I am curious. Why would you pretend to be my friend?"

"I already told you, I'm not pretending! Jeez, is it so hard to believe that?"

"Yes."

Asami sighed once more.

"Why do think that I'm gonna betray you?"

"Because everyone does eventually."

"I'm not everyone."

"Doesn't mean you won't betray me." 

The silence was more awkward than ever.

"What made you think that?"

"Someone told me."

"Who?"

"Someone who I trusted, and is now dead."

the way he said it made it seem like-

oh no.

Asami had forgotten just what had provoked the shukaku to take control.

" Well, I can tell you that I'm not using you, and even though you might not think so, i still want to be your friend.

He looked at her curiously.

"What?" she said "is there something on my face?"

"no, it's just…" He paused for a second, thinking carefully about what he was gonna say.

"Why are you so persistent? Are you getting paid that much?"

"I'm not getting paid anything! And why would I wanna kill you?"

He looked at her in a way that said _ I don't trust you, but I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt._

"I don't know."

" That's cause I have no reason for doing that! I genuinely wanna be your friend!"

Gaara smiled, but it seemed to be a little lonely to Asam. (She felt a small pang of guilt for only using him to protect herself. That feeling was promptly pushed down.)

she smiled back at him and then noticed that the sky was a beautiful mix of reds and yellows. However much she wanted to, she didn't have time to appreciate the view.

"oh, crap! the matron made me promise I would be home before nightfall, I'm so screwed! See you later Gaara! meet me at the park tomorrow after school ends!, Wait, you're homeschooled, right!? do you know when that is? Oh, yeah, you've been following me for the past 3 days you probably know that. Don't you dare ditch me! Bye!"

the redhead smiled lightly as she ran to the direction of the orphanage and watched her trip on another pebble. She fell down like a dying snail, and he would have laughed if he wasn't worried. Tomorrow would be an interesting day…

...

After meeting Gaara at the park for a while, Asami went off to the abandoned building she had been using as her training grounds for almost 2 years now. The walls were crumbling and it smelled like shit, but no one came there anymore so she could train all she wanted.

Of course, she had asked the matron if she could come a little later than usual so she could train. She actually said she was going to try swimming at the small public pool that the government offered for those who wished to learn how to swim, but what yuk didn't know couldn't hurt her. She didn't want to worry the woman like she did last time, and yuko was surprisingly ok with her being out late as long as she told her where she was going.

first came stretches. She had learned from watching her peers cramp up that even though they seemed boring and useless they were actually there for a good reason.

After about five minutes of basic stretches and running a few laps inside the building, (by a few she meant like two. She had the mentality of a twenty-year-old but her body was that of a child's. Ugh.) Asami decided that it was time to start shuriken and kunai throwing. She practised all the steps that the teacher had given them so as to make sure that she would do anything stupidly wrong and maybe amputate a limb (poor Asuka), and when she was done making sure that she knew them all, she picked up the weapons and started practising.

Based on Asami's personal experience, throwing shuriken was harder. Mainly because her hands were small and chubby, which difficulted throwing them without getting hurt. (honestly why the academy would even give toddlers weapons was beyond her understanding.)

She managed to make 8 out of ten hit the makeshift target dead centre. (Said target was a sheet of paper with two red circles clumsily painted on them. damn those five-year-old hands!)

Satisfied with her results, Asami switched to kunai.

After correcting her stance and posture, she began throwing.

this time, all knives hit dead centre! it was an improvement from last weeks 7 out of ten, which was probably a result of focusing more on her actions than on the target.

Asami grinned to herself, happy that she was making progress and even happier that no one knew about it.

if only she knew how wrong she was…

…

Toya couldn't believe this. The past six months had been crazy! first, he was told he was gonna join Anbu. He was sixteen, for god's sake! that was too young to be a toy for the government, and they should know better!

but now, he was told to follow a five-year-old girl just because she had made friends with the village jinchuuriki! politicians were truly the scum of this world.

Nevertheless, it wasn't like he was allowed to say no. So he followed her. He had read her file for a while before tailing her, so he knew what to expect. According to her file, she was mature for her age but was terrible at school. Toya cringed when he saw those grades and cringed even harder when he saw the results of those physical exams. ( Her speeds were comparable to that of a dying sloth)

Why in the world did she grab their attention? apart from the fact that she befriended Gaara, there was nothing interesting about her. her grades were more than bellow average and she was just _boring_.

until he saw her training.

The girl had gotten _all ten kunai dead centre_ into the target she had made, and by looking at the answers to the advanced textbook she had probably stolen from the library, he saw why.

Something about her just wasn't right, and no one on the council could place their fingers on what. No child was supposed to be this advanced in anything.

she was a downright _prodigy_.

why she didn't show it in class intrigued him, and he was going to figure out why.

…..

Asami walked back to the orphanage content with the results of her training and dripping wet with pool water.

she had told Yuko that she was going to practice swimming, and it would be very suspicious if she showed up completely dry.

So the only rational thing to do was to jump into the pool while yelling "Cannonball" and run away from the guards as fast as she could. The chlorine in the water stung the various small cuts that adorned her hands and lower arms, which she hid with a towel. Its was around 8:30 pm and Asami hoped that she hadn't made the matron worry too much.

Yuko may be very annoying and patronizing sometimes, but that didn't mean she was gonna put all that strain on her.

Asami knocked on the door and when Yuko opened it, Asami ran straight towards her room (Well, it was a room she shared with twenty other children or so, but it was still her room.)

and entered the shower. There was a limit on how much time she could spend in the shower, So Asami made it quick. She missed long showers as much as she did her own bed.

She was in such a hurry to get to bed, she forgot about the nightmares that were sure to come.

….

Asami (no, that wasn't quite right) saw a woman with curly brown hair tied up in a low ponytail flip some pancakes, which probably meant that she was at home and that the woman was her mother.

She didn't know why she was so tense. This was the same kitchen that had welcomed her home for seventeen years now, the sight of it should be welcoming, not foreign.

Asami-no, that wasn't right. why was she referring to herself as Asami all of a sudden? her name was-

what was she thinking about again? eh, probably nothing.

She sat down on the table like she had so many years before, and waited for mom to finish cooking. She stared at the light blue tiles that decorated the kitchen walls and wondered why this all seemed so different than what she was used to.

mom turned around with a plate of breakfast food and-

She fell off the chair in horror of the thing that stood in front of her. Yes, it wasn't human. it couldn't be.

half of its body was covered in scars and blood and oh god was that _melted flesh-_

"Why are you so afraid of me?" it smiled, showing parts of her skull that the gore didn't cover.

"Oh, you don't remember. I think you probably look worse though, all those years under the ground couldn't have done you any good. At least there's nothing left of me to bury. Pancakes?"

she ignored the woman's question and crawled farther away from the thing in the middle of the kitchen. its body was dripping blood and gooey bits of something that she hoped she would never see again.

She looked down at her hands, which were covered in soil and scars an_d vermin were eating through her flesh and-_

"_Don't be so disgusted."_ its voice was warped and it hurt her ears.

"Why did you betray me?"

this time it wasn't just the creature.

A red-headed boy stared up at her with lonely sad eyes and looking at him _hurt._

"you're only friends with me because you want to use me," he said.

the creature was gone now but this wasn't any better.

"And you don't feel even a little bit guilty."

She was having trouble breathing now.

"You're just gonna let them die."

StopItstopItstopIt_stopItstopIt-_

"_Just like you let me"_

_it finally stopped._

She was in a white room, with no visible doors or windows, yet the white floor haunted her with the shadow of someone- no, something.

_it_ was back, but no more scars and gore.

Her mom was normal now, but instead of the usual smile on her face, she was frowning.

"_Why did you let me die, Ma-"_

Asami woke up with a start and began to cry.

….

"jackal, report."

The Anbu operative and the councilman currently found themselves in a stiff-looking office, decorated with nothing, adorned with nothing and with a few lovely nothings at a desk. It was bland, boring, and just the thing for an old councilman like Joseki

said councilman was anxious to hear about the Anbu member's observations of one Hajime Asami's day, which he expected to be something of minor concern

Actually, He hadn't expected any interesting news to show up on the first day, So Jackal's presence was indeed a surprise.

the shinobi in front of him began to tell Joseki the news he so itched to hear

"At first, there was nothing interesting, sir. But as soon as she was granted permission from the orphanage matron, Kurosaki Yuko, to go swimming in the public pool she headed to an abandoned building a few meters west of the orphanage, where she began to train."

Jackal paused so that Joseki could absorb the information.

"After watching her practice for little over an hour, it was clear that she displayed signs of prodigious behaviour, as well as having hit 8 of the 10 shuriken she had reserved dead centre on a target that made, and all ten out of the ten kunai dead centre to. The other shuriken were not far off the middle mark."

Joseki almost choked on his tea. If it wasn't for his extreme self-control, he probably would have screamed "what!?" in disbelieve. But he didn't lack self-control, so all he did was widen his eyes enough so that all the other people in the room could see how surprised he was.

The girl had marks that were well below the average student's marks, (He and the other councilmen all had mini heart attacks.) and one of his most trusted Anbu had just tod him that she was actually a _prodigy_.

"I don't understand. How come her marks in school are abysmal but outside of class, her performance is prodigious?"

"I apologise sir, but I also do not have the answer to that question. I can, however, keep following her to see if i can find out."

"Yes, good idea. Dismissed.!"

Joseki was not an idiot. He knew jackal was a young, new operative in Anbu, but the Shinobi had proven himself loyal in more than one occasion in the past six months that he had been in Anbu for. He could trust Jackal with this matter.

"And one more thing."

Jackal stopped mid-step, his porcelain mast not looking at his boss.

"No one else must know about this, understood?"

"Yes, Joseki-sama."

….

Toya walked out of the old geezer's office with morbid curiosity.

Time to find out what other secrets the child had.

…

Asami was in the middle of wiping her tears off when she sneezed. Huh. Weird.


	4. Chapter 4

Asami walked beside Gaara, noticing how he kept a reasonable distance from her. It didn't matter that she had already told him that in her eyes, he was not a monster. He had been betrayed before, and it was understandable that he didn't want to get too attached.

"do you want to play ninja?"

The blond girl looked at Gaara, surprised that he had made the first move this time.

"Sure! But i have to go back to the orphanage in an hour or two, or the Matron is gonna

whoop my ass."

He nodded happily. "that's okay!"

…..

"Why are you still hanging out with that freak?!"

Kin yelled. The black-haired girl had tormented Asami's life for the better part of a year now, and she sure wasn't gonna stop.

"Why do you care?!"

The little brat had the audacity to roll her eyes.

"Hasn't anyone told you that he's dangerous?"

"See, unlike you, I'm capable of forming my own opinions and I don't have to rely on other people to think for me."

Kin huffed.

"don't say i didn't warn you."

the insufferable girl and her pack of brainwashed minions finally left Asami alone. There were only about 30 minutes left of lunch, and Asami intended to make the most of it.

Her plan was working out well until someone

scooted up beside her, and spoke so quietly Asami barely heard them.

"If you don't mind me asking, Why do you hang out with him?"

She recognized the girl as Namida Sanako, a quiet clan kid who rarely spoke in class and had a heart attack every time someone spoke too loud. They had spoken a couple of times, with the two of them being the outcasts and all.

"hmm. That's a good question." Asami took a second to organise her thoughts.

"I suppose it's because i wanted to form my opinion on him without other people influencing me. I've heard from a lot of people that he is dangerous, but after hanging out with him for a while I've realised that he's actually a pretty cool person."

Sanako nodded, not uttering a word.

"you are lucky to be able to do that."

"Do what?"

"be able to form an opinion without being forced by other people to think like them."

"Why can't you do that?"

"It is not that i cant do that specifically, it's just that if i act differently than what is expected of me my clan will be severely disappointed. Bad things happen when the clan is mad at you"

Asami had a vague idea of what that meant.

There was a loud ring, signifying the end of the lunch break.

She hurriedly scarfed down her lunch, put the empty container inside her bag and rushed inside the classroom (the back of the class always filled first. she never again wanted to sit in the front seats.)

…

The walk home from the academy was boring and hot. The temperature during summer in suna was comparable to the devil's armpit, and even Asami, who barely drank any water found herself losing count of the number of times she had to go and have a drink.

Honestly, the weather here was hell, and it was only the beginning of summer. (why couldn't she have been reincarnated somewhere with a more reasonable climate?!)

Gaara was nowhere to be found, and if Asami stalled any longer she would arrive much too late and worry poor yuko.

So, she gave up her search and went straight to the orphanage.

…..

Asami was walking home alone again. She was growing more and more used to the feeling of sand in her shoe, and even if it was uncomfortable, it held a certain familiarity to it.

The sun was about to set when the young girl spotted a familiar face sitting on the ground. Namida Sanako almost always looked lost in her own little world, but this time, it seemed like she was even more lost than the usual.

Walking right past the girl and ignoring her huddled form seemed kinda rude, so Asami decided to talk to her, see if maybe she could get the girl to say something.

She silently sat down next to her and nudged her with her elbow.

" you okay? "

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds Until Namida Sanako answered.

" I suppose."

"d'you wanna talk about it?"

More silence, except this time it was less awkward.

"...yes."

What now? Asami never thought she would get this far. Usually, people said no and Asami wouldn't have to say anything, but this was different. Asami was a complete mess when it came to understanding people's feelings, and she didn't want to make the already upset girl even sadder. Ooh boy. Improv time.

"Let's hear it then."

Seriously?! 'Let's hear it'?! Asami could already feel the failure that this conversation was gonna turn into.

"It's… my clan."

"what about it?"

" I am going to take a test tomorrow so that the clan elders can decide if i am a suitable heir, and I don't believe that I will meet their expectations. I am nothing but a disappointment to my cla- ow!"

"What's with that attitude?! if you keep thinking like that then you've already failed! it's all in the mindset!"

Namida Sanako's eyes widened, and she was struck speechless. Never before had anyone been so brash to her before, and neither had she seen the young orphan ever act so spirited. Her mouth hung limply open, and no word was uttered between the two.

"I-um, thank you."

Asami humphed.

"You're one of the most capable people I know. And anyway, it's just a stupid test. Who cares if you fail! If your clan's elders cant see that you'd be an amazing clan head then they're as dumb as they're old!"

Namida Sanako's lips began to twitch. And slowly, she began to laugh. It was little and quiet, but it was the first time Asami had seen the girl laugh, or even smile.

"Namida-san?"

Her laughter subsided until there was a small smile resting upon her lips. Asami looked into the other girl's deep blue eyes and saw that they shone with unshed tears.

"Call me Sanako."

…..

Asami couldn't sleep.

It's not like that was something new, but this time it was worse.

No matter how cold the rooftops were, they somehow always felt quite welcoming to her. Maybe its because the moon and stars were the same here than they were back home, or maybe because working on her stolen ninja textbooks kept her from thinking too much, but whenever she woke up from another bad dream the rooftops were her go-to place.

So why did she still feel sad?

She tried to work on her advanced ninja notebooks or look at the stars, but it seemed like no matter how much she tried, her mind would still drift back to the same question, over and over.

why didn't she help?

With all the knowledge she had about the naruto world, she could change the entire history of her current world. She could prevent devastating losses and attacks, and she could stop people from dying. Why was she being so selfish?

Asami couldn't take it anymore. It was time for a walk.

…..

Suna was much more bearable during the night than it was during the day, but that doesn't mean nighttime wasn't bad either.

The cold weather was often extreme, and on the rare occasion that it wasn't, you would still need to use a thick jacket lest you freeze to death.

This night was one of the more 'gentle' ones, however, Asami still needed to wrap herself around her bed quilt.

the long fabric dragged on behind her, and the young blond-haired girl was sure it was going to be dirty and full of sand by the time she got home, but honestly, she didn't care. Asami really needed this walk.

Her chubby 5-year-old legs would constantly trip on the quilt, and Asami was sure that her face was going to be dotted with small bruises and scratches ( There were sand and pebbles everywhere in suna. Honestly, fuck wind country!)

She turned around the corner and found herself on a very familiar road. It was where the kazekage and his children lived.

oh boy.

Asami was about to turn around (she did not want to get involved with the Anbu guarding the Kazekage's home) When she saw a familiar shock of red hair.

It was Gaara, and he was looking at her with a pained expression on his face.

"Gaara? what are you doing outside?"

There was no answer from him.

"Gaara?"

The silence between them seemed to grow more awkward.

"Hey, i have an idea. Why don't we go up on a roof and watch the stars? There's still a couple of hours before sunrise."

"I've been avoiding you."

"Then no wonder i couldn't find you. But seriously, why did you ditch me? I've got no one to play ninja with now."

Again, he ignored her.

Asami sighed.

"Alright then. Keep your secrets. Hey, that rooftop looks low enough for me to climb, let's go!"

The two of them climbed up one of the houses (nearly waking up one of its inhabitants) and sat on the edge of the roof, Watching the stars in the night sky.

After a while, Asami decided to break the ice. (maybe she should have thought of something else to do it with)

"Y'know, I always wondered. How come one moment you're fine with being my friend and the next you're leaving me alone for days?"

Gaara looked at her, eyes wide and said nothing.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just don't feel like talking about that."

Then Asami remembered. The one-tail was capable of influencing Gaara's thoughts, and it was quite likely that he had been telling Gaara the same things Yashamaru had told him before he died. That no one really liked him, and that those who did were only pretending to and were going to betray him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you sad."

"It's okay."

There was silence once more, yet this time uncomfortable instead of the usual pleasant quietness. It was odd, and Asami thought once more about her mother. Big no-no.

"Random question: if you could be any animal in the world, what would you be?"

there was a pause.

"You're really strange."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

….

Toya, also known as Jackal, had been trailing Hajime Asami for about four weeks now, and the girl never seized to surprise him.

Not only had she displayed extreme taled for ninja arts; she had also shown extreme maturity and zero fear for the local jinchuuriki.

He had begun to think that nothing she would ever do could surprise him anymore. He had been wrong.

did she even know how powerful the Namida clan was? And if she did, was she befriending the heir on purpose?

Honestly, The girl was an enigma he doubted anyone could solve.

The sun had just come up, and after getting back to his shift (he was human, he needed sleep) he found her once again sitting on the roof with red-rimmed eyes and a grim expression. This kind of behaviour was normal to him, even though it took him some time getting used to. No child this young should be having these types of nightmares. He briefly wondered what could have happened to her, but he didn't let himself ponder on the question.

Instead, he thought of how pissed he was at Joseki-sama. The councilman might have been his boss, but he was still an asshole. The entire council was.

Although he did not understand why the girl wouldn't perform to the best of her abilities in the classroom, he understood why she was often described as someone with a lack of motivation to serve the village.

His loyalty to Suna lied only on the fact that most of his pleasant memories came from here, and the desire to protect the people who lived there (except the council. Fuck the council). He could relate to her feelings but wasn't there at least one person whom she wanted to protect with all her heart?

he moaned quietly.

"I hate my job."

…

The day had barely even started, but things were already quite bizarre. Yuko didn't yell at her for climbing up the roof, and she got an extra piece of bread for breakfast, which was extremely rare because the orphanage barely had enough money to pay bills and food, let alone buy extra. When being handed the bread, The Matron winked at her and smiled brightly, Which only left Asami more confuses. What the fuck was going on?

'At least something is still normal' she thought as she was slung over her sensei's shoulder like a flour sack.

"So, Asami chan. Feelin' any different today?"

"Huh? Am I supposed to?"

"Well, it is your birthday, so I just thought-"

"It's my birthday?!"

"Yeah? Wait, don't tell me you forgot."

"I didn't! I was just too busy to remember, is all!"

"Isn't that the same as forgetting?"

"Shut up!"

…

Asami sat next to Sanako, who was quietly eating her bento.

"So?"

"So what?"

"How did the test go?"

"They were… satisfied."

"Just satisfied?"

"just satisfied."

"Stupid old geezers, thinking they rule the world. You were probably amazing, Sanako-san."

Said girl began to blush furiously at the comment.

"No, i made too many mistakes, its a wonder I even passed-"

"Stop being so modest and admit it! You went really well didn't you?"

"I swear on my heart that I did not do well."

"I reject your swear!"

"Can you even do that?"

"Who cares If I can or not!"

…..

"Hey, Gaara." Asami's voice seemed to echo through the empty street.

"Hello, Asami-san."

"Quit it with the honorifics, would' ya?"

"Wouldn't it be rude to do so? After all, we only met a while ago."

That was basically Gaara talk for 'i only met you a while ago and even if you are my only friend I still don't consider you close enough to drop the honorifics.'

Still, no matter how much Asami was annoyed at that fact, she understood that she had to respect his boundaries and his wishes, and slowly make him trust her. Somewhere deep inside her, She regretted doing this only for her own protection. Those type of feelings had become harder and harder to push down. (and it hurt a bit).

"I don't mind. I never liked honorifics anyway."

"So what should I call you?"

"Asami is just fine."

…...

The sun had set ages ago, and Asami was running for life. Yuko was gonna be so pissed at her! She was supposed to be there before sundown, and she knew from experience that she was probably gonna have to endure an hour of yuko's ranting about how careless she was. Damn it! she should have paid more attention to the time while training! Now she was gonna-

Asami bumped straight into a random stranger on the street. The 'young girl' scrunched up her nose- he reeked of sake!

"Eh? whats a Gaki like you doing here at this hour?"

Asami tried to keep on running, but the man grabbed her by the back of her t-shirt and hoisted her up into the air.

"Not even an apology for bumping into me? Man, I really hate kids."

Asami kept quiet, planning her escape route inside her mind.

"Oi, Kaname!" a voice shouted from inside a nearby bar "come on, man! They're about to serve the good sake!"

"comin', Shiragiku!"

Asami struggled against his grasp.

"Maybe I should teach you a lesson, eh? maybe then you'll learn to respect your elders."

"Let me go, old man!"

"Eh? what this?"

He gazed at his arm, wrapped in sand. wait- wrapped in sand? Gaara was-

There was a sickening snap of bones, and the man dropped her into the ground.

"Aaahh! what have you done, gaki! you're gonna pay for this-"

The man saw something behind her that made him stop, and suddenly he ran away.

The man who had previously yelled from inside the bar stepped out, probably alarmed by the screams.

"Kaname, oi, where are you-"

his eyes drifted to Gaara, and he suddenly understood why his drinking buddy had run away.

"It's the demon kid! run!"

he took off in a sprint, leaving the two children alone in the streets.

Asami looked at Gaara and saw him holding his head in between his hands, quietly muttering into his hands.

and at that moment, Asami realised that even though she had the mentality of a twenty-year-old, the other kids didn't. Gaara was young and had to live with a monster inside his head, which was something that many adults wouldn't have been able to handle. (Her guilt only increased).

"Hey, Gaara." She began slowly "It's okay, y' know."

"It's not, It's really not! There's blood everywhere and I can't wash it off and he wants more and more and I can't stop-"

"It's gonna be okay," Asami did not know how to react to this. "How about a sleepover at your place? I know it's rude to invite yourself to another person's house, but i figured you probably don't wanna spend the night at an orphanage."

He took a deep breath.

"Yeah-yeah. Okay."

He seemed to be at least a little bit distracted from what just happened, which was good. She could work with that.

"Alright then. D'you wanna come to my place so i can tell the matron.

His voice was nearly a whisper, but she still managed to hear it.

"sure."

…...

A/N:

Hello dear readers!

I just wanted to say, thank you very much for reading my story, and i hope you enjoy! I will post a chapter next week, but after that, i might take a break. Why, do you ask? Chapter six will be a time skip and I need some time to plan what's gonna happen. It's not official, this is just a warning in case i don't update.

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, the only thing i own are my ocs!


	5. Chapter 5

"Just wait out here for a sec while I get my stuff, ok?"

The red-head still looked disturbed, but his eyes were no longer that wide and he was able to form coherent sentences, not just words.

"Ok."

Asami quietly opened the door and stepped inside the house, ready to face the matron's hellish wrath.

Gaara stood outside the orphanage, patiently waiting for the girl to come out. He could hear the Shukaku quietly muttering inside his head, and tried his best to ignore the voice that haunted him so.

Of course, he could only do so much. ( Gaara hoped Asami came back soon. )

….

Asami did her best to not make her presence known to the matron, she really did, but it was no use. Yuko had her arms crossed and a scowl on her usually smiling face, and the young orphan immediately knew that she was in for the longest scolding of her life.

…

Asami walked beside Gaara, her feet barely making any sound at all. The night sky was bright with stars and _wow, _was the moon always this pretty? Despite all the time that Asami spent staring up at the constellations, she had never noticed that the moon was able to shine this brightly.

The Kazekage's home was right around the corner, and even though she had been the one to suggest the idea, Asami wasn't looking forward to meeting Gaara's father. She couldn't back out now though, so she kept going with a determined look on her face. She was gonna make Gaara feel better no matter what, dammit! (the guilt kept coming and it seemed like it was never gonna stop. Never before had Asami felt so confused and unsure about something.)

"Do you want to sneak in from the window?"

"Huh?"

"Well, you looked a little uncomfortable, and I know that my father can be both intimidating and, well, a bit frightening."

Asami thought this over. On one hand, this way she wouldn't have to make any form of contact with the man she so despised, but she wasn't a coward! She could face anything, and she certainly wasn't gonna back out just cause she was sort of intimidated.

"I'm not uncomfortable! Well, not that much. I can take it!"

Gaara stared at her, looking confused.

"Are you sure?"

Asami's mouth opened and closed like she wanted to say something, but didn't know how to say it.

"No, I'm not. But what i am sure about is that I'm not a coward, and I'm not scared! Unless you don't feel like facing him, in which case I'm fine with sneaking in by the window."

The young red-head smiled at her softly, and instead of waling to the front entrance like he usually did, Gaara completely avoided it. (and by extension the gaze of the shinobi guarding the door) Instead, he opted to go for the back of the building, where the window of his room was.

"Have you learned to walk on walls yet?" He asked her. His curriculum was completely different from the academy's, and even though he himself had already learned to mould chakra and use it to walk on walls, he wasn't sure in the academy students had been taught that particular skill.

"No, I haven't. They only teach you that kind of stuff when you're in your sixth year."

"Okay then. Would you feel comfortable if i used my sand to bring you up?"

Asami's mind flashed briefly to the moment when Gaara had smashed the man's arm and a small jolt of fear (which thankfully went unseen) went through her. Of course, answering that question with a no would only make the poor boy feel worse about himself, so Asami pushed it down and said:

"Yeah, that's fine."

….

Being hoisted up by sand that was hovering in mid-air was as bizarre as it was fun. The platform that was holding her up felt like what Asami assumed were clouds, and looking down into the village from high above made her feel significant (weird, right?).

The kazekage's residence was commonly referred to as 'The Tower'. Because, as the name suggested, it was a tower. That was it. Sure, it was the tallest building in suna, but it didn't even compare to the skyscrapers that could be found everywhere in her previous world.

That didn't stop it from being exhilarating, though.

Gaara's room was on the top floor of The Tower, which meant she still had a ways to go before reaching her destination. Gaara had hoisted himself up first before doing the same to Asami so that he could better concentrate on making sure the sand platform didn't break midway.

Asami looked once more at the moon and sighed softly.

(She missed home more than she cared to admit.)

….

"That's the one tail, that's the two-tails and that's the three-tails. I can't find it right now, but my favourite one is the eight-tails." Asami was pointing out the figures in the stars with her small fingers, eyes squinting to get a better look at the shapes that adorned the sky.

"How do you know all these constellations?"

"Well, I've never really been able to sleep well, so one day when I saw a book about constellations while i was at the library i figured i might as well learn something new instead of doing nothing."

Both of them were quiet for a minute until Gaara broke the silence and said:

"Do you have any more constellations that you can show me?"

…...

Golden rays of sunlight light up the sand paved streets of sunagakure, and unlike the rest of the children both Gaara and Asami had not even gotten close to sleeping yet.

The young blond didn't really mind, actually. It would not have been the first all-nighter she had pulled, both in her previous life and this one.

"Don't you have to go to school now?"

The young boy asked Asami. He had been dreading the time when the sun would come up, but it had been fun to spend time with Asam, and he understood that she had to go.

"Surprisingly, no."

That was a surprise.

"I asked the matron last night if I could skip school just today, and in return, I would endeavour to not make a fuss when the teacher came for me. She said okay, and that she would tell sensei that I was sick today."

The idea of missing out on school sounded tempting at first, but Asami didn't really want to risk missing any important information that could aid her in the future, This was way more important, however, and Asami had promised herself to spend as much time as possible with the jinchuuriki as she could. Hopefully, she would be enough to distract him from Shukaku's ugly thoughts.

"So, what do you wanna do today?"

…

Shukaku was pissed. Unbelievably pissed.

And it was all because of the little pest that somehow managed to distract his vessel from the killing he so desired. No matter how much he whispered into his vessel's ears that _she was only using him _and that _he should kill her before she betrayed him too,_ it seemed that Gaara was managing to ignore him. _The brat._

Never before had he wanted someone gone so badly.

…..

This was probably the hottest day Asami had ever gone through (in both lives, mind you). It wasn't even noon yet and she could feel the sun burning her skin and turning it red. Gaara didn't really seem to mind the heat, maybe because of his sand armour, but whatever it was he was a _lucky bastard _to have it.

The universe was so unfair sometimes.

Then, the most brilliant idea came to mind.

_The pool._

…

The public pool was mostly empty, except for the shinobi stationed there to help if someone ever began to drown. Which was the _perfect _setting. Asami couldn't have asked for a better way to spend this hot day other than an empty pool.

They had made a quick trip to the orphanage in order to get a bathing suit for Asami ( The matron seemed to feel slightly uncomfortable near Gaara, but she had reacted better than most civilians, who usually ran away screaming bloody murder.)

"Yes!"

Asami ran to the swimming pool, sighing in relief when the cool water hit her skin.

It was sort of like a ramp, with the end being deeper for the adults and the front of it being shallow enough for Asami's feet to comfortably touch the ground.

Gaara seemed reluctant to jump in, which wasn't surprising since he had probably never been near the swimming pool before.

"Aren't you gonna get it?"

He paused before answering.

"I can't swim."

"That's okay, i can teach you. I'm not that great, but I know enough to get by."

He still looked wary, but in the end, Gaara cautiously used the pool stairs to get into the water and shivered. He shivered!

"How can you shiver?! It's so hot I felt like being cooked alive outside! "

"My sand armour protects me from the heat, but not the cold."

So it _was _the sand armour!

"That's cool. At least you'll never get sunburned."

….

It was a war. Cold and brutal and cruel. How dare he splash her like that?! After all she had done for him, Asami thought they were friends!

"You betrayed me!"

"It's only a water fight!"

"You took my trust and you crushed it! I thought you had my back there!"

Asami had been trying to teach Gaara how to swim, but then he slashed her! He had declared war.

"I'll GET YOU BACK FOR THIS!"

She swam as fast as she could (which was frankly just a little faster than a snail.) and tried to splash Gaara back.

He laughed at her frustrated face when she realized that she was never gonna catch up, and splashed her again.

Asami sputtered and sank, coming back up for air. Something was wrong, however. That didn't seem normal.

The young boy rushed over to her, desperate to help when he felt something grab his ankle.

Just as he realized what it was, Asami dragged him down.

After a moment, both of them rose back up to the surface. Asami grinned, victorious and happy that she had taken her revenge on him.

"I told you id get you back!"

"You triced me! I thought you were hurt!"

"I regret nothing!"

….

The sun was finally setting (thank god!) and both Gaara and Asami were dripping wet.

It had, overall, ben a pleasant day, even with the heat.

"I have to go back to the orphanage now."

The young boy's face fell.

"Ok."

"Today was fun. We should do this some other time! See you tomorrow, okay."

He still seemed sad, but this time, There were also some traces of happiness.

"Okay! See you tomorrow!"

"Bye!"

"Bye!"

Asami ran off, eager to wash off the chlorine, and for a moment, everything seemed okay.

(That was but an illusion that would be broken with time.)

….

Jackal watched the girl he was assigned to watch run, and as his shift was nearly at an end, he decided to return and report to the council. Nothing very interesting had happened, but he figured it was better to say something than to leave it out and get scolded for it later.

Suna was cruel to its shinobi, and he was dreading the day that the blond kunoichi realised that.

He dreaded the day that would crush her spirits and wipe the happy smile off her face.

That day had come for him ages ago, and if he could, she would spare every shinobi that cold fate.

( It was but wishful thinking. He knew he couldn't.

But a man could dream)

….

Hello readers! I'm sorry that this chapter was so short, I've just been very busy lately, I'll try to make the next chapter much longer than usual though, and i think that i might be out next week (Please don't be alarmed if it doesn't, time skips are a little bit hard to plan.)

Thank you very much for reading, and please review! I love reading what you think!

Disclaimer: i own nothing but my OC's, naruto belongs to Kishimoto.


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